Never Take Anything For Granted
by Functional Mute
Summary: It is Thanksgiving in the busy Gibbs house when a strikingly familiar face appears at the door. Is the family to be complete once more? Is it really that simple? Includes team as a family. AU.
1. Chapter 1

Gibbs grinned. The sounds, the smells, the smiles. He was a Marine, a quiet man who liked the peace of silence. However, a few times a year, he lived by the rule of 'the more the merrier'. It was Thanksgiving and every year he insisted that everyone had dinner at his. It was, after all, a time for family to be together!

He was checking on the food, consulting his schedule. Almost time to start the vegetables. The kitchen was filled with the aromas of the huge Thanksgiving feast they had spent all morning preparing, and the sounds of laughter, music, singing, and the occasional shouts from children floating through the walls. He couldn't help but smile to himself as he realised how lucky he was.

He did one last count in his head of his five kids plus families: Tony and Julie plus three, Caitlin and Jack plus two, Ziva and Shay plus two, Tim and Zoe plus two, and Abby and Tom plus four! A full house today! Ducky and Jimmy had been invited, and Gibbs expected them to arrive in the next few hours. His father had declined this year, not feeling up to making the long journey.

Glancing at the clock, he started cooking the veg and took note of when he had to check in next. He headed back out to join the party, not getting very far before a toddler ran straight into his legs. He laughed, lifting the boy into his arms while watching the bustling room. He spotted three little faces light up at the sight of him and in moments they were also racing towards him. He led them to the corner to sit and play with them for five minutes.

Tony was immersed in conversation with his brother and brother-in laws, but spotted his dad crouching in the corner with some of the kids and caught his eye with a grin. He knew how much his dad loved the mayhem of big family get-togethers. Continuing his glance around the room he spotted his daughter attempting to teach some of the younger kids the words of 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer', his older son pretending to wrestle his cousin and the two dogs, and his beautiful wife with one hand on her swollen belly. His smile got a fraction wider at this glance as he returned to his conversation.

* * *

Gibbs carried the last dish in, passing it up to be squeezed onto the other end of the table somewhere. As he sat, the conversations trailed off and children were hushed.

"So, it's Thanksgiving once again. I know I say the same things every year, but every year I have a bit more to be thankful for. I'm more thankful than I can say to have my family. For everyone here, and those who aren't with us today. We know Jack couldn't make it this year, but we know he's having a wonderful dinner with lots of his neighbours. And we'll phone him later so you can all speak to him." He saw the excited grins of some of the children at the idea.

"I'm also thankful for those no longer with us. Those of us who had the opportunity to know Kelly and your mom, Shannon, know how great they were and are grateful I'm sure for the time we had with them. And for those who never got to meet them, I know you've been told how wonderful they were." He saw the nods of agreement from his kids, and smiled at Tony as he nodded to tell him to continue.

"Well I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm very thankful for the delicious food that your Grandpa has made for us!" They all laughed as some of the kids nodded emphatically. "Also, for everyone here, especially my beautiful wife for putting up with me for yet another year."

They continued around the table, some of the kids joining in with how thankful they were for their new puppy, a new baby brother or sister, or for not having tonsillitis this year! Soon, they tucked into the food and the conversations built and built until there was a constant chatter and background hum of noise again. They all helped to clear the table after dinner before moving back into the living room. Over the noise of singing and games in the living room, Gibbs heard the doorbell. He went to answer it, nodding to Tony who also stood to get it.

He ushered kids and dogs alike out of his way to get to the door, and wedged himself in the gap as he opened it to stop any of them running out.

Stooping to lift a toddler in a baby pink dress and smiling at the boys chasing the dog's tail, he asked the two women at the door distractedly, "Hi, can I help you?"

As the boys got rowdy and tried to push past him to go outside, he called over his shoulder, "Tony!"

"Jethro?" the older of the two women asked quietly.

At the tone of her voice, he looked up at them. She looked very familiar… At the feeling that this was more than just someone selling something, his investigative instincts kicked in. The older woman's hair was red and turning grey-white. The younger of the two had a messy brown ponytail and a slim, pretty face, but looked too thin as if she had been unwell. She was holding her arms protectively across her chest under a baggy coat and standing very close behind the older woman as if hiding. Looking back at the older of the two, she smiled slightly as she met his eyes. Her eyes… Bright green, so strikingly familiar, the same ones he saw every day in some of his children and grandchildren. His confused expression morphed to one of shock as the puzzle pieces came together.

"Who…how…? Wait here." He stuttered before backing into the house.

"Jethro?" she questioned pleadingly.

"Just…just wait." He repeated, closing the door.

He scooped up one of the rowdy boys at his feet in his free arm and carried the kids into the busy living room, setting them next to respective parents or other children. He discretely took Tony aside for a moment.

"I need to speak to some people. I'm taking them into the dining room. In ten minutes, if I'm not here, excuse yourself and come join us." At his concerned expression, he reassured, "Don't worry."

Gibbs ushered the dogs into the living room and closed the door gently behind him as he left. He rushed to the front door, praying that they hadn't left. He breathed a sigh of relief at the same time as his insides knotted at realising that they had indeed waited. He led them in to the empty dining room and motioned them to sit.

* * *

AN: This is just the start. I'd love to know what anyone thinks so far of the idea. I can't promise prompt updates unfortunately, but I do want to try to continue this.


	2. Chapter 2

Leroy Jethro Gibbs didn't often experience the feeling of being lost for words. Yes, he was a quiet man and his kids occasionally called him a 'functional mute', but this… He stared, his gaze jumping back and forth between the two faces. He was well and truly gobsmacked.

A long pause later, his thoughts began to gather, and his questions began to form. His shock turned to happiness, then to confusion, scepticism, suspicion, anger, doubt, and then a full circle back. He took a steadying breath before saying anything, taking in the nervous expressions on the familiar faces.

"I think you need to talk…and explain…whatever this is." He told them slowly and in a forced neutral tone.

The women glanced at each other and hesitated. The older of the two looked at him and opened her mouth as if to speak before shutting it and looking down at the table with a frown.

"Jethro, I don't know where to begin…" She finally stated. "I didn't want to spring this on you like this, but… We really are who we say we are. I want to prove it to you. We didn't die. He told us that you'd be told we'd died in the car."

She paused again, glancing up at him nervously. His blank mask prompted her to plead, "Ask me anything. Anything at all. I need you to know that this isn't a terrible prank or anything. I need you to know that it's really us."

He stayed quiet, looking between them for a few moments. "I…believe you. We'll get DNA tests done later."

His quiet, steady voice showed no emotion, no belief whatsoever. Shannon knew that he was excellent at hiding what he was feeling, but she needed to know that he knew them. She needed him to believe them. She needed a glimpse of _her_ Jethro.

"Look at me. Leroy Jethro Gibbs. You were born in Stillwater to Jack and Lily, Jackson and Lillian." His expression didn't falter so she changed her track. "We first laid eyes on each other when I was working in the shop window of my Aunt Ellen's dress shop. We shared the train the next day. I told you I'd never date a lumberjack. 'Either rule number 1 or rule number 3' I told you. I suggested you stop fighting with Chuck and his stupid friends. Do you remember?"

Shannon had tears in her eyes at this point. Gibbs' gaze was kept pointedly on the table.

"When I was pregnant, I sent you little yellow shoes. You phoned that night. I was so nervous about how you'd react, but you were so excited. You bought Tony a USMC t-shirt when he was three and he refused to take it off for about a week. I had to wash it every single night after he went to sleep. You taught all of them how to ride their bicycles. They refused to let me try because they thought they'd fall if their daddy wasn't there to catch them. Just after Abby and Timmy were born, you got your dad and my mom to come stay and took me away for the weekend to celebrate my birthday. We said it would be a weekend without the kids. Friday night was wonderful. You took me for dinner and a long walk along the beach. On Saturday morning we went horse riding along the shore, racing through the shallow waves and getting soaked with the salty water. After lunch though, we missed the kids so much that we phoned them just to talk to them. Mom told us that Abby had the tiniest fever, and that we shouldn't worry. We lasted another two hours before we rushed straight home…"

Shannon looked down, wiping stray tears from her cheeks as she struggled to keep her emotions in check. She could hear her voice cracking with the memories.

"Daddy… Mom just wants to know that you remember." Kelly spoke quietly.

Gibbs couldn't help but look up as she spoke. She looked him straight in the eye, and he was shocked to find the same lack of emotion that he was projecting. How would she ever have learned to do that? His masks had been built through years of bullying as a teenager, combat as a Marine, and the huge loss of his wife and daughter. Why would his baby Kelly-bug ever have had to develop this kind of mask? He just couldn't reconcile this face with the face of his laughing, smiling baby girl from all those years ago.

"I remember," he told her, his voice hoarse. He looked over to Shannon's tear-stained face. "I remember everything. I remember the day we met. I remember proposing to you and marrying you. I remember the birth of each of our kids. I remember every precious moment we had together. I also remember being told you had died. I remember our children's faces every time I told them that mommy and Kelly weren't coming home. I remember seeing the burnt out scrap that was left of the car, every surface covered in blood – your blood. I remember burying you. I remember grieving for the last 22 years. I don't know how you could ever think I could forget a moment of what we had."

Shannon finally saw the man she had married. The emotions burning in his eyes. The passion in his voice. She gave him a small smile as she wiped the wetness from her cheeks.

"I remember everything," he continued after a steadying breath. "That's why I don't want to allow myself to believe. I can't do that again."

He looked down again and she saw the wall being raised, brick by brick, emotions disappearing one by one.

She nodded, understanding at last why he wasn't allowing himself to feel, and took a few breaths to compose herself. "Ok. Where do you want me to start? What do you want to know?"

"Everything," was his short answer. His eyes turned to her and with an intensity she had never seen in anyone else but him, he reiterated, "Everything."

Shannon nodded and prepared to tell the story of their last 22 years.

"You were deployed. It was a Thursday evening. Tony was at a friend's house having pizza after basketball practice. Katie and Zee were at somebody in the next street's princess birthday party. I needed to collect them soon. I needed to get the twins to sleep and Kelly wanted to make fairy cakes so I decided to walk to the supermarket around the corner. We put Abby and Timmy in the double stroller and I let Kelly push them for part of the way."

She remembered some of the tiniest details of that night with such clarity that it sometimes scared her. She frowned, remembering everything.

"It was all so normal. We all missed you of course, but we were managing. I remember laughing at something Kelly said. We were having fun. We got to the far end of the supermarket car park and started to cross it. It was deserted at this end, and some of the streetlights weren't lit. It didn't even occur to me that there would be anybody… Well, you know this area. We'd never had anything like that before. Still…I should have been more careful. I didn't see them until we were already in the car park. I still thought nothing of it. Two men talking, standing beside their parked cars. I noticed that one was in uniform, but that wasn't all that unusual. I didn't think anything of the exchange. Money for a little plastic bag. Drugs didn't even occur to me and I didn't even spare a thought to consider anything foul. They hadn't spotted us and it was when we were only a few hundred metres from the supermarket doors that I heard the muffled bang. I turned and saw the drug dealer standing over the Marine with a gun. It was when I reached to pull Kelly into the shop with me that I was him look straight at me. I knew he had seen me as I was standing close to the well-lit doorway of the store."

She shook her head. "Sorry, you probably know all of this anyway. We hid in the back of the store for at least an hour, jumping every time the doors opened or shut. Eventually we got a taxi, picked up the other kids, apologising for being late, and went home. I phoned NIS as soon as the kids were in bed and they sent Mike Franks over within an hour or two. Until he got there I sat with your spare gun in my hand. I wouldn't have had a clue how to use it, but I kept it just in case."

"Franks and his team protected us and investigated for two weeks. They were close to getting this guy and just needed to track him down when it happened. It was exactly two weeks since it happened. We'd stopped the kids going out or doing anything for over a week and they were going crazy being cooped up so much. We couldn't leave for Stillwater because they needed my identification when they caught him and needed me to be available in court. We agreed that the children could re-join their clubs as their last lead on the drug dealer suggested that he was heading out of state. Jim, one of the NIS agents, was driving myself and Kelly to pick up Tony, Ziva and Caitlin from basketball and piano classes while Abby and Timmy were in bed with the other young agent watching them. We hadn't got very far when they shot Jim. We were slowing to a stop at a red light at the time so Kelly and I were ok. Very shaken up, but not actually hurt. They appeared, three of them, and dragged us from the back seat. They took us to their van, producing two very burnt bodies and placing them in our places. They pushed the car down the hill, letting it gather speed and hit a tree on the corner. We watched them set it on fire before they closed the doors of the van and drove us for hours. The sun was rising when we were led into a house. That basement was our home for the next ten years."

Her rambling story had been picking up in pace as the memories and the fear associated with them returned. With the last line though, she knew that she sounded resigned. No matter how she told it, she knew she couldn't change anything. No matter how hard she wished or prayed, nothing would change. Except, perhaps, their futures.

AN: Sorry for the delay. Ideas in my head move much faster than my fingers on the keyboard! The story is likely to get a bit darker in the next chapter as details of the last 22 years emerge...

Constructive criticism always appreciated!


End file.
